Saturday, January 12, 2008

QUESTION: Beloved Osho, In every situation, if I say to you within me "Thank you, Osho," something happens. This creates some distance from my mind, I become more and more weightless, I begin to float, to fly. I don't know where I will go. But please let me say again and again and now, "Thank you, Osho."

ANSWER: It happens sometimes that you suddenly stumble upon a beautiful phenomenon. That's what has happened when inside you say "Thank you, Osho."

It is not only words, it is a gratefulness felt by every fiber of your being – it is gratitude. That's why you suddenly feel weightless; all the burdens of the mind – worries, tensions – disappear. You feel as if you can float into the sky like a cloud. You have stumbled on a technique without knowing that it is a technique.

It is a Tibetan method. It has been used for at least two thousand years. In a Tibetan monastery – you will be surprised if you visit – every lama, whenever he comes across the master during the day working in the field, working in the garden, he simply bows down, puts his head on the master's feet and says, "Thank you, master." That is inside, that is not really in words. It is a feeling, a thankfulness.

Sometimes it happens that in a day the disciple may come across the master a dozen times. A dozen times he will do the same; and slowly, slowly he becomes aware that those moments are the most precious. He starts seeking the master. Then the master says to such disciples, "Now there is no need actually to touch my feet. Wherever you are, just bow down in my direction with the same feeling of gratefulness and you will have the same experience."

And this is a new discovery – at first they were thinking that something is happening because of the master; now they know something is happening because of themselves. The whole focus has changed. The moment they discover that it is their own gratefulness, then the master says, "Now don't bother about the direction. All directions are the same. Bow down – bow down in any direction; just remember the feeling." And they are surprised: it is not even the direction of the master, all directions are the same.

And finally the master says, "There is no need of bowing down every time unnecessarily. It is only a question of feeling. Standing, sitting, sleeping, in any posture of the body, if you can feel the gratefulness you will feel that weightlessness, the silence, and the immense sweetness all over your being."

You have found some method on your own; rejoice. Enjoy it. Enjoy it more and more, so slowly slowly there is no need to say it at specific moments. It becomes just your very life – sitting, walking, doing a thousand and one things, but the gratefulness remains inside. It is not gratefulness towards someone in particular. The master is just an excuse. Just for the beginners it is good, because without an excuse they will feel a little awkward. Standing in an empty room and saying "Thank you" will look a little awkward. So it is just for the beginners that the master becomes an excuse – although when you are touching the feet of the master and saying "Thank you, master" you are saying it in an empty room.

The master is an emptiness. Use it more and more, so slowly it becomes a natural phenomenon, like breathing. And it will bring tremendous experiences to you.